Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-12-09

a iissic Romance sr.ps cut Ina the
Bank Case.

tBy telegraph TO the Dlspatch.l
C1scrsyArr, December 8--The Eh-
qairer this morning prints .tdc-sim'tee
letters. which it says we're furnished
by Charles Hopkins, son Of Assistant
Cashier BENJAMIN L. Hopkins. They
purport TO be letters sent by Harper to
Mrs Josie Holmes, his former exchange
clerk. IL is explained thai after the iail-
ure Hsrper professed the warmest friend
ship for his assistant cashier, hr hop
kins, and promised to do everything
that could be done TO shield MN.
Young Hopkins was correspondih8ly
kind to Harper, and became his Inesssn-
ger to carry letters to and from Miss
Holmes. While in his Office he began
TO suspect that Harper was arranging
to shirk upon Hopkins the responsibility
OF all transactions with the gram
brokers, and young Hopkins, to place
Harper within his power, conceived the
bold design Of concealing the letters
and delivering verbal messages only.
This worked well until Miss Holmes
visited the Jail. Harper was furious
upon learning Of the treachery OF his
messenger and has since been cold
toward Hopkins. The letters were III
cipher, which was easily read. harper
also sent three checks TO Miss Holmes,
which Hopkins suppressed and turned
over TO District Attorney Burnett They
aggregated 300, 600, and 1t IS presumed
/ that they were intended to be placed SO
as to cover up some OF the crooked
transactions of his bank. One for $780,
600 was dated February 2Sth ; the others,
for 600, 900 each, were dated June 9th.
The letters of Harper TO Miss Holmes
are as ardent as those OF any lover could
be. In the first one he instructed her
about what she should say in her testi-
mony. She answered saying she would
| be as evasive as she could, but feared
she could not testify as he wanted her
to. She said he had made a botch
sending Hopkins to see her, and asked
him why he did not go when he had q
chance. She asked him 70 send her q
lawyer to advise her how to testify. 10
this Harper replied with many protesta-
tons OF love for his bright angel, aud
upbraided her for her GOODNESS,
and especially for her cool sug-
qestion that he should have flown
/ 1t looked to him as though she
wanted to get rid of him. He reminded
her of his talk during their last ride to-
gether, that he said the worst thing
would be their separation, and that she
said that it would be, and, pressing a
kiss on his lips, said she would go to
prison with him, or, ii that could not be.
would visit him daily. He begged her
to get well and come to him before she
got into a safe-deposit box, otherwise all
would be spoiled. He also urged her to
take no more of the drug. and to decline
10 be interviewed. in one of her notes
Miss Holmes said to Harper: " You
wife has $500, 900. I have nothing now
to do but to die, with your family dis,
grazing me, as they have done in the last
two days"
The iove-letter episode makes
world of sympathy for Mrs. Harper,
but creates a correspondiHgiy hard
feeling against Harper.
The Court, upon the close OF the GOV
ernment's testimony to-day, OF Its owl
motion rnled ont four of the counts in tho
indictment as being imperfectly drawn
As there are ffty-fve counts IN al, these
four cut but small figure tOthe defend
ants credit. 1t is an unusual and re
markable fact that not single exception
has so far been taken to any ruling O
the Court Moreover, the rulings have
generally been made with but little argu
. / mont